Display comparison

Samsung kept the 5.1" screen diagonal from the previous Galaxy S, but stepped up the resolution to QHD (that's 1,440 x 2,560px). HTC kept the same IPS LCD - 5 inch in diagonal with 1080p resolution. Both displays are protected by Gorilla Glass 4.

You may think that QHD is excessive, but Samsung's Super AMOLED has a PenTile matrix - that's two sub-pixels instead of three. This means the sub-pixel count is now roughly equal to a 1080p LCD so it does improve sharpness.

The company has done more to improve the display quality. Since the Galaxy S5 it perfected color rendering (with minimal color shift due to viewing angle) and on the Galaxy S6 it pushed the brightness way up. AMOLEDs used to be dark, but the Galaxy S6 display can reach 750nits - higher than the LCD of the HTC One M9.

Note that this is on Auto brightness, when you set the brightness manually you can only push it up to 470nits. That's pretty close to the One M9's maximum of 530nits.

The HTC One M9 screen has vivid colors too and minimal color shifting when viewed at an angle. The contrast is excellent too, 1,200:1 across the brightness range and the blacks are pleasingly deep. The brightness slider is not linear though, the screen only puts out a third of its top brightness when the slider is in the middle.

Display test

50% brightness

100% brightness

Black, cd/m2

White, cd/m2

Contrast ratio

Black, cd/m2

White, cd/m2

Contrast ratio

Samsung Galaxy S6

0

208

∞

0

373

∞

Samsung Galaxy S6 (Auto brightness)

0

208

∞

0

619

∞

HTC One M9

0.15

175

1180

0.44

534

1221

Samsung Galaxy S5

0

274

∞

0

529

∞

Samsung Galaxy S5 (Auto brightness)

0

274

∞

0

617

∞

HTC One (M8)

0.2

245

1219

0.46

577

1256

Apple iPhone 6

0.17

207

1230

0.61

740

1213

Sony Xperia Z3

-

-

-

0.65

866

1333

LG G3

0.14

109

763

0.72

570

789

The screen is pretty reflective though, which keeps the sunlight legibility down to One (M8) levels. The Samsung Galaxy S6 on the other hand has one of the best displays in that respect. And this was with brightness set manually, the auto brightness has potential to offer even better legibility.

Sunlight contrast ratio

Nokia 808 PureView4.698

Samsung Galaxy A34.241

Samsung Galaxy S64.124

Samsung Galaxy Note 44.033

Samsung Galaxy Note 33.997

Apple iPhone 53.997

Samsung Galaxy A53.895

Apple iPhone 63.838

Motorola Moto X (2014)3.816

Samsung Galaxy Note Edge3.799

Samsung Galaxy A73.679

Oppo R53.678

Samsung Galaxy K zoom3.675

Nokia Lumia 9303.567

Apple iPhone 5s3.565

Samsung Galaxy S53.549

Nokia Lumia 7353.547

Motorola Nexus 63.543

Alcatel Idol X+3.527

Apple iPhone 5c3.512

Samsung Galaxy Alpha3.509

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo3.487

LG G Flex23.465

YotaPhone 23.453

Motorola RAZR MAXX3.42

Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III3.419

Samsung Galaxy S5 Active3.406

Nokia Lumia 9253.402

Gionee Elife S5.53.386

Samsung I9505 Galaxy S43.352

Samsung Omnia W3.301

Samsung Galaxy S5 mini3.174

Samsung I9000 Galaxy S3.155

Samsung Ativ S3.129

Samsung I9190 Galaxy S4 mini3.127

Samsung Galaxy S4 zoom3.118

Nokia N93.069

Apple iPhone 6 Plus3.023

Samsung Galaxy Note2.97

Samsung Galaxy Premier2.958

Sony Xperia Z12.95

HTC One S2.901

Lenovo S90 Sisley2.892

Samsung I8730 Galaxy Express2.861

BlackBerry Q102.856

Samsung I9100 Galaxy S II2.832

HTC Desire Eye2.815

Gionee Elife S5.12.812

Samsung Galaxy S II Plus2.801

BlackBerry Z302.79

Meizu MX4 Pro2.765

Sony Xperia ZR2.672

Huawei Ascend P12.655

Sony Xperia Z32.618

Sony Xperia Z3 Compact2.616

Sony Xperia T32.609

BlackBerry Passport2.595

Nokia Lumia 9002.562

Motorola Moto G 4G2.546

HTC One Max2.537

Nokia Lumia 7202.512

HTC One2.504

Motorola Moto G2.477

Sony Xperia Z2.462

Xiaomi Mi 42.424

Samsung Galaxy S III mini2.422

Lenovo Vibe Z2 Pro2.416

LG G Flex2.407

HTC Desire 8202.372

HTC One (M8)2.371

Meizu MX42.366

Motorola RAZR i2.366

Meizu m1 note2.362

Sony Xperia ZL2.352

HTC One M92.334

HTC One (M8) for Windows2.291

Oppo Find 7a2.279

Alcatel One Touch Hero2.272

Apple iPhone 4S2.269

HTC Desire 600 dual sim2.262

Nokia Asha 3112.25

Xiaomi Mi Note2.234

Motorola Moto G (2014)2.233

LG Nexus 52.228

Nokia Lumia 8202.193

HTC One (E8)2.185

Oppo N32.181

Nokia Lumia 9202.17

Huawei Honor 62.169

HTC One X2.158

Nokia N82.144

Nokia Lumia 6202.142

Nokia 5152.134

HTC Desire 5002.129

Sony Xperia C3 Dual2.12

Xiaomi Redmi Note2.119

Sony Xperia acro S2.119

Nokia Lumia 10202.103

Oppo Find 52.088

Sony Xperia SL2.078

Nokia Lumia 6302.056

BlackBerry Z102.051

Huawei Ascend Mate72.024

Samsung I9295 Galaxy S4 Active2.022

Apple iPhone 42.016

HTC One mini2.003

Xiaomi Mi 32.001

Huawei Ascend P71.992

LG G21.976

OnePlus One1.961

Oppo R8191.957

Sony Ericsson Xperia ray1.955

Lenovo Vibe X21.952

Sony Xperia Z21.944

Sony Xperia E31.943

Nokia Lumia 13201.941

HTC One mini 21.94

Samsung Galaxy Camera1.938

Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime1.935

Sony Xperia J1.932

Acer CloudMobile S5001.931

ZTE Blade S61.927

LG Nexus 41.926

LG G Pro 21.922

Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.31.913

Nokia Asha 3081.911

HTC Butterfly 21.905

Sony Xperia T1.894

Nokia Lumia 8301.887

HTC Desire X1.878

HTC Butterfly1.873

HTC Windows Phone 8X1.873

HTC Butterfly S1.867

Huawei Ascend P61.865

Huawei Ascend Mate1.845

LG G2 mini1.838

LG G31.82

Nokia Lumia 15201.813

HTC Desire 616 dual sim1.797

Sony Xperia V1.792

HTC Desire 8161.783

Sony Xperia Z1 Compact1.772

HTC Desire 700 dual sim1.769

Sony Xperia U1.758

Meizu MX31.754

LG Optimus G1.753

Sony Xperia T2 Ultra1.74

Sony Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact1.735

Acer Liquid Jade S1.734

Sony Xperia SP1.733

Oppo Find 71.691

LG Optimus 4X HD1.691

HTC One V1.685

BlackBerry Q51.682

LG Optimus Vu1.68

Xiaomi Mi Pad 7.91.672

LG Optimus GJ1.666

LG Optimus 3D Max1.658

HTC Desire V1.646

Samsung Galaxy Xcover 21.632

Samsung Galaxy Ace 31.622

Jolla Jolla1.605

Sony Xperia Z Ultra1.578

Sony Xperia go1.577

Samsung Galaxy Ace 2 I81601.566

Samsung Galaxy Core1.563

LG Optimus G Pro1.552

Motorola Moto E1.545

LG Optimus 3D1.542

Nokia Asha 3021.537

Samsung Galaxy Core Prime1.507

BlackBerry Curve 93201.488

Sony Xperia M1.473

Oppo N11.47

Sony Xperia E41.467

Meizu MX 4-core1.462

Nokia Lumia 6101.432

Samsung Galaxy S Duos1.4

Microsoft Lumia 5351.393

Samsung Galaxy Grand Neo1.393

Sony Xperia M21.393

Samsung Galaxy Grand 21.38

Sony Xperia E11.372

Nokia Lumia 6251.371

Gigabyte GSmart G13551.361

Sony Xperia L1.351

Xiaomi Redmi 1S1.35

Samsung Galaxy Mega 5.81.35

HTC Desire 5101.34

Sony Xperia M2 Aqua1.331

Sony Xperia miro1.324

Samsung I9082 Galaxy Grand1.321

Samsung I8530 Galaxy Beam1.315

Xiaomi Redmi 21.311

HTC Desire C1.3

Nokia X1.291

Sony Xperia C1.283

Nokia Asha 5031.281

Nokia Asha 5011.27

LG Optimus L71.269

Nokia Lumia 5101.268

Samsung Galaxy Fame1.245

LG Optimus L91.227

Meizu MX1.221

Samsung Galaxy Young1.22

Sony Xperia E1.215

Nokia XL1.204

Sony Xperia E dual1.203

Asus Memo Pad 7 ME176C1.198

Samsung Galaxy Pocket1.18

Nokia Asha 3051.178

Nokia Asha 3061.175

Sony Xperia neo L1.169

Sony Xperia tipo1.166

Nokia Lumia 5201.161

Samsung S6802 Galaxy Ace Duos1.148

Samsung Galaxy mini 21.114

Having mentioned colors, Samsung provides Screen modes that change the white balance and color saturation of the display to match your preference.

Both the Galaxy S6 and the HTC One M9 feature a high-sensitivity mode that lets you operate the phone with gloves (great for winter times).

Connectivity

Both phones can (theoretically) go up to 300Mbps when connected to an LTE network and they also support 42Mbps 3G. Both use a single nano-SIM card, with no official dual-SIM versions announced yet.

Locally, both can hook up to speedy Wi-Fi ac (on 2.4GHz or 5GHz) and both have the latest Bluetooth 4.1 with apt-X for high quality audio streaming. The Galaxy S6 also has ANT+ for use with certain sports sensors.

For positioning the Samsung supports a combination of GPS, GLONASS and Beidou (the Chinese system). The HTC One M9's specs page doesn't list Beidou even though the Snapdragon 810 chipset does support it.

If you still listen to plain old FM radio broadcasts (as opposed to online streaming radio), the One M9 requires you to plug in a pair of headphones, while the Galaxy S6 does not support it at all.

Both phones have IR blasters to control AV equipment at home. Surprisingly, both come with the Smart Peel Remote app, but you can always install a different app.

IR blasters on top of both devices

Finally, for wired connectivity both have a microUSB port with MHL 3.0 for TV out and USB host for connecting peripherals.

Winner: Tie. Unless you still listen to FM radio or have invested in ANT+ equipment there's no clear winner to be had between the two in the connectivity department as both cover the modern-day essentials and then some more.

Battery life

Update, April 3: we received a retail Galaxy S6 unit and re-ran our tests. The battery life improved, pushing it above the One M9 .

HTC managed to fit a slightly bigger battery in its new flagship (2,840mAh vs. 2,600mAh), while Samsung actually went down in battery capacity (2,550mAh vs. 2,800mAh). Yes, Samsung has wireless charging for quick top ups, but as we found in our review the Endurance rating of the phone tumbled down by 10 hours as compared to the Galaxy S5.

This would have been HTC's chance to strike, except the One M9's Endurance rating is down 15 hours compared to its predecessors.

Here's the thing, Samsung used its chip manufacturing prowess to bring the first 14nm mobile chipset to the market, while Qualcomm is still on a 20nm process. This has a noticeable effect in how much waste heat is produced by the chipset (this has implications for performance), but also impacts battery life.

The Super AMOLED screen is also very efficient - despite the move to QHD and the higher brightness, the Galaxy S6 performed better overall. For the battery test we put the brightness slider at 50%, which translates to 208nits for the Galaxy S6 and 175nits for the HTC One M9.

Even so the Samsung Galaxy S6 beats the HTC One M9 by at least three hours in web browsing and by four hours in video playback. It does lose in by an hour in the talk time though. Still, for a battery that's 250mAh smaller, the Samsung result is quite good.

Also, there's a powerful charger in its box and a wireless charging option, while the HTC has none of those.

Winner: Samsung Galaxy S6. Big wins in web browsing and video playback lead to a superior Endurance rating. The smaller talk time is not perfect, but we doubt you'll talk the battery dry. The more convenient charging methods also count for a lot.

Both Samsung and HTC went back with their battery life, but at least the Galaxy has a thinner frame to show for it. The One M9 may be suffering from a sub-par chipset, we'll see in a bit.